Berenice
by Serpent In Red
Summary: "In a sea of faces, I always look for yours." And just when Minako thought her hopes and dreams would always end up in shattered pieces, a trip to a famed psychic changed it all.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**: Written for the Senshi/Shitennou Reverse Mini Bang 2019. Huge, huge thanks to all the mods who set this up. You guys rock! Huge thanks to my beta, caffeineivore! Huge, huge thanks to chevalierviolet, for her breathtaking artwork which inspired this fic.

This story is sort of a mix and match of all Sailor Moon worlds (Crystal, manga, and 90's anime).

~-0-~

**Chapter 1**

She'd always liked fortune-telling.

It wasn't because Minako trusted Rei (as a disclaimer, she **_did_ **trust Rei when it came down to reading the future and deciphering supernatural things), and neither was it because some members of their group often used dreams as premonition devices.

And really, some of those dreams were shitty fabrications that were planted in a certain **_someone's_ **mind by their future selves. To this day, even Ami couldn't come up with a satisfying theory in regards to **_who_ **gave King Endymion that shitty idea and **_what_ **possessed him to go through with that overly convoluted, shitty plan in the first place.

Minako secretly believed that it was probably because most of his logic got blasted out of the window when the Black Moon clan attacked, but who was she to question her future liege?

Okay, she was lying. She would always bring it up during conversations when she was cross with Mamoru, but who was keeping score anyway?

But all those things aside, she'd been interested in the art of glimpsing into the future even before she became a Sailor Senshi.

"Why do Mako-chan and you believe in fortune-telling anyway?" Ami asked her one day, complete with a frown of confusion and slight frustration. "Though some minor details might change here and there, we already know what lies in our future."

The gold bracelets on Minako's wrist jangled as she stretched her arm over to pick up her tropical fruit punch. A sudden burst of wind blustered through the street and nearly caused some strands of her long, golden hair to fall into her drink before she caught them with her free hand.

There were many perks to sitting outside at a cafe, but long hair plus drafty weather was certainly not one of them.

Ami typed away on her laptop, the light tapping mixing gently with the sounds of happy chirpings from a nearby tree as Minako took a long sip out of her glass.

Minako played with the straw afterwards, watching with mild fascination as the pulp rise and fall with the stirring of the plastic, the taste of chemical compounds still tickling at the back of her tongue. She wondered if the store really believed that they were going to trick anyone into thinking that they were drinking real fruit juice.

She called the waiter over, asked for a glass of water, and waited until he was out of sight.

"They keep impossible hope and dreams alive."

The light click-clack of keys being pressed stopped, so momentarily that Minako almost thought it was a figment of her imagination. Then, she saw a glimmer of nostalgia and pain, hidden in the depths of ocean blue eyes that were still focused on the screen.

It was ten minutes later before Ami realized that she'd miscalculated something, somewhere along whatever genius thing she was doing on her laptop.

~-0-~

"What do _you _think about fortune-telling?" Minako asked, a couple of days later.

Placing the iron back on the rack, Ami carefully examined the white shirt for any creases she might've missed before placing it back on the ironing board.

"Statistically speaking, if I were asked to guess someone's life story, fifty percent of what I say should be true," Ami answered. "Disregarding facial expressions and other elements that can signal others what emotions this person is going through, that means that I can say something and be correct five out of ten times. Fortune-tellers rely on that five."

Minako hummed as she leaned backwards until she was lying on the water blue sofa with her arms above her head.

"But what about those scarily accurate fortune tellers? Like the ones that are like … eighty-five percent correct," Minako questioned, staring at the ceiling.

Ami's gentle but firm voice said, "Self-fulfilling prophecies."

The shuffling sounds of slippers could be heard as Ami walked over into view, the neatly ironed white shirt in her hand.

"If I told you 'beware of getting wounded'," Ami elaborated, "more than likely, you'll associate any small wound with the so-called prophecy. The trick of fortune-telling is to say something so general that you can't be wrong either way." She paused before adding, "Even if the 'prophecy' didn't happen, the fortune-teller can always tell you it was because they'd done something to help you avoid the trouble."

Minako giggled. "You tell that to Rei-chan."

A light pinkish tinge rose on Ami's cheeks. "I … I don't …"

Minako waved her hand in Ami's general direction. "Stop worrying, Ami-chan. I'm not going to squeal on you." She tilted her head to one side. "If you help me finish writing my report for Art History class."

Ami raised an eyebrow at her. "Feel free to tell Rei-chan what I've said."

Spinning on her heel, she placed the white shirt on the sofa Minako wasn't occupying and went to put away the iron and ironing board.

"I'm just kidding," Minako said with a giggle.

Ami didn't answer, though Minako could already imagine the small smile the Mercurian soldier would always end up having when she bantered with her sister Senshi.

"Say, Ami-chan," Minako said slowly. "Have you ever gone to a fortune-teller?"

Ami carried the iron and ironing board into her room, and by the time she came out, it was coincidentally nearing the time for dinner.

~-0-~

"Minako-chan, I told you I don't believe in these things," Ami protested as the other girl pulled her down the street. Then, she added as an afterthought, "And I don't have the time."

"It won't hurt your grades if you slack off every once in a while, Ami-chan," Minako said, waving her hand at the delicate girl nonchalantly.

"The times when I can be slacking off will be better used to develop preventive measures for whatever we might have to face before Usagi-chan takes her place," Ami replied, opting to avoid saying "Crystal Tokyo" while they are out in public.

"Ami-chan," Minako said, stopping in her steps.

She spun around Ami and fixed her with such a serious gaze that it made the latter shrink a bit in guilt before she remembered that she had nothing to be guilty about.

"It's **_four years_ **before Usagi-chan takes her place. For the past two **_weeks_ **, I've seen you made forty-nine adjustments to the wards that we'll put up once Usagi's future home is built, sixty-three scans of the galaxy, and came up with thirteen different possibilities in regards to how and when the change will come about," Minako said.

Ami's eyes widened in shock. "How did you kn-"

"The point is," Minako continued, cutting the girl off, "more than likely, you'll make at least twenty thousand changes before then, so I absolutely refuse to let you hole yourself up in the command center and drive yourself nuts before the future arrives."

"There's no such thing as being too careful!" Ami argued.

"Of course there's not," Minako agreed. "But I think it's completely bonkers to start now. Once Usagi-chan takes her place, we won't have time to slack off."

Ami opened her mouth, almost as if she wanted to say something, before she sighed and a look of resignation appeared on her face.

"You could've made Mako-chan come with you instead," Ami muttered.

She didn't get an answer. Instead, Minako pulled her along the streets, nearly bowling over a couple of people along the way. Ami stopped counting after the fifth time she'd had to squeak out a quick "sorry" before being tugged away.

Suddenly, Minako halted in her tracks, nearly causing Ami to crash into her.

One look at the place and a frown appeared on Ami's face.

"Minako-chan …" she started off slowly, watching as the girl pulled out her cell phone and checked something.

"Let's go in!" Minako stated after stuffing her phone back into her purse.

"Minako-chan!" Ami grabbed onto Minako's arm with her free hand, preventing the latter from pulling her into the building.

Minako looked at her questioningly, and Ami closed her eyes for a moment, exasperated. Of course the girl wouldn't understand why she didn't want to enter a strange building.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" she asked, taking another glance at the dilapidated structure in front of them.

The place looked more suited for a visit from a bulldozer than for housing fortune-tellers.

"Of course I am," Minako answered. Pulling out her phone again, she waved it in Ami's face. "I triple checked the address already."

"It doesn't look … well … welcoming," Ami said with some difficulty.

It look downright horrifying, in Ami's opinion. She didn't even know how the building was holding itself up. It seemed as if a gentle breeze would've caused the walls to come crumbling down.

"Didn't they say that powerful mystics often live in forests and mountains and what not?" Minako asked.

"Who's 'they'?"

However, Ami's question was completely ignored as Minako continued to say, "We're quite lucky that we only need to climb into an old building."

"Minako-chan-"

"Where's your sense of adventure, Ami-chan? Besides, the people who've gotten their fortune told here say the lady is really, really accurate," Minako said.

Ami bit down on her lower lip. However, in the end, the urge to ask overcame her.

"But what if they find out who we really are?" Ami asked.

Minako gave her a shrug. "Even if they suspect anything, they don't have any proof. It's not like they can just ask us 'Oh, hi, are you a Sailor Senshi because that's what is says on your palm?'. It doesn't work like that, Ami-chan. Besides, this fortune-teller can supposedly tell you what happened in your previous life and how it will affect this lifetime. The most they can probably deduce from it is that we're warriors, which isn't that big of a deal."

Ami gaped at her. Regardless of whether she believed in fortune-telling or not―and you can be assured that Ami would never admit to believing in fortune-telling―she didn't think that things would turn out as simple as Minako was playing it out to be. Never mind the fact that Ami was quite afraid for their lives, walking into a building that was in such disrepair.

However, Minako probably took her silence as acquiescence. Before Ami could protest again, she was pulled into the building.

~-0-~

Ami stared at the interior of the office with a light frown as she followed behind Minako, who flitted from place to place looking at things.

"Minako-chan …" Ami started with some difficulty.

Minako stopped and gazed at her questioningly.

"This …" she said hesitantly. "This is supposed to be 'popular'?"

"It's a weekday," Minako said offhandedly.

In Ami's opinion, that wasn't a very convincing reason, but then again, she wasn't the one who was getting her fortune told. _Not _that she believed in fortune telling. It was, after all, not logical at all to believe that someone could actually possess the ability to look into the future. So being a person who placed her beliefs strongly in science, Ami of course did not believed in fortune telling. Nope. Definitely not.

The wait was excruciating. Every time a gentle breeze blew outside, Ami's mind would conjure the picture of the building falling on top of them. Minako, on the other hand, seemed to not even notice anything wrong about the whole thing and was cheerily waiting to be ushered inside to meet the so-called popular fortune teller.

Once they'd entered the room where Minako's fortune was to be told, Ami had to resist the urge to go back to the comfort of walls threatening to topple down on her. Wafts of indescribable scents attacked her nostrils the moment she stepped inside, making her miss the fresh air she was breathing in twenty minutes ago. The decorations were a bit over the top, in Ami's honest opinion. It reminded her strongly of psychic shops in movies, though much more extravagant. There were figures of idols from nearly every religion she could think of, as if the owner couldn't decide which one they liked better, so they'd decided to add all of them.

Purple curtains draped down in the middle of the room, with one side being currently tied to a hook on the wall, half revealing an altar of some sort.

"Good afternoon," said a misty voice.

A slender hand pushed back the curtain that wasn't tied back, and a woman donned in purple, blue, and green appeared. Extravagant jewelry decorated her hands and hung from her neck and ears, and heavy make-up covered her face.

_Clichéd _, Ami immediately thought.

"Good afternoon," Minako greeted, obviously not bothered by it at all.

"Please," the woman said, gesturing towards the chairs surrounding a round table with a crystal ball on top of it, as she took a seat herself.

Ami gingerly sat down while Minako enthusiastically plopped down directly across from the lady.

The woman waited until they'd settled down before speaking again. "I had foreseen you arrival."

Ami bit down on her tongue, mentally reminding herself that she was just here to give Minako support, so it didn't matter what she thought about the so-called psychic as long as her friend was happy.

Indeed, Minako seemed completely enthralled by the experience so far.

"You are here … to ask about your lost loves," the woman said, waving and circling her hands around the crystal ball and staring into it as if she really saw something within.

A slight blush appeared on Minako's face as she stole a quick glance at Ami. The latter could feel her cheeks burn.

"I … I'm not here to-" Ami started to say.

The psychic cut in, saying, "Your heart is filled with mistrust. Your mind tells you that the words I speak are false. You are a person of logic. Fortune-telling cannot be true."

Ami stared at her. Not that she would immediately throw her doubts out the window, but she did find it a bit creepy now.

"Both of you try to convince yourselves that your lost loves do not matter. Yet, you look at what your friend has, and a longing burns within the depths of your hearts, wishing that what you had lost will come back to you." The psychic then closed her eyes, tilting her head backwards. "But a promise is a promise! You!"

She pointed at Minako. The latter had been so engrossed in what the woman was saying that she had leaned forwards. Thankfully, her training as a Senshi had provided her with quick reflexes, or else the area between her eyebrows would've stabbed by the lady's finger.

Minako's hands latched on to Ami's arm, and Ami could feel that she was slightly shaking.

"You are the reason why they cannot return," the psychic dramatically said. "He told you … he told you of the ritual to pray for his return … you promised but never delivered … that was why he and his brothers never returned from the war! You were the reason!"

~-0-~

The frown on Ami's forehead had been deepening ever since they'd left the fortune-telling shop. To be honest, it was hardly because of the fortune-teller's highly dramatic performance but because Minako had been quiet ever since that supposed look into the past.

Ami wouldn't go as far as to say that she was worried or scared, but the look on Minako's face did cause a curl of unease at the pit of her stomach. Granted, there were times when she couldn't completely decipher what Minako was thinking when the latter wanted to hide something, but most of the time, Ami knew when something was wrong.

"Was it true?" Ami asked before she could stop herself.

She stood still in the middle of the street, indicating that she wasn't going to let this subject go.

Slowly, Minako looked towards her with her head tilted to one side as she, too, halted in her steps. "What?"

"What the psychic said," Ami said.

Minako stared at her for a short moment before answering, "Ami-chan … you don't believe in these things."

"I don't," Ami immediately denied, though she felt heat traveling up to her cheeks.

"Then why are you letting this affect you?" Minako asked with a shrug.

"Because you've been acting strange ever since you've left the fortune-telling place," Ami pointed out.

Minako blinked twice slowly at her before saying, "Ami-chan … you know that we don't have all of our memories from our past life back, right?"

Ami frowned, not sure what that had to do with what they were talking about. Nonetheless, she still nodded in answer to her question.

"I was simply trying to remember if I'd made such a promise to … _him _in the past," Minako replied.

Ami stared at her, trying to determine whether she was lying or not, and though she _knew _the more calm Minako seemed, the more suspicious it should be, she knew she had to let it go. When Minako had _that _face on, she wouldn't confess anything.

So she dropped her gaze. She wasn't Rei or Makoto, or even Usagi. They had it in them to force words out of Minako, but Ami didn't. Not that she couldn't stand her ground, but she … didn't have the heart to force her friend to lie.

"Is that all, then?" she asked softly instead.

A soft grin appeared on Minako's face, and Ami thought she heard endearment in Minako's next words.

"I did promise to treat you to something at Fruits Parlor Crown, didn't I? Let's go!"

~-0-~

Minako Aino never liked to lie to her friends.

Despite the fact that she was capable of keeping a cheery, _convincing _mask over her face, it didn't change how she would feel that uncomfortable lump in her guts every time she was forced to do so. However, practice did make perfect, and that rock in her stomach still appeared, but with a lesser burden each time she lied.

It still bothered her, but it was _manageable _.

What was much more burdening was the uncomfortable feeling of being responsible for tragedies that had happened.

As much as she loved fortune-telling, it didn't mean that she truly believed them. But … she did remember what the fortune-teller said. That image, that _memory _that had lingered at the back of her mind and had horrified the Princess of Venus when Venusian soldiers had reported about _their _betrayal.

She'd known, before any of her sisters, that they wouldn't come back to them the way they were …

~-0-~

_"It's just a tall tale," the Princess of Venus had dismissed, brushing her hand through her long hair._

_Her eyes met with the gaze General Kunzite of Terra, _her _Kunzite, through the mirror while he'd button up his jacket. _

_"Many women in my land do it," he said, strolling up to stand behind her as he placed his hands on her shoulders. "In exchange for their lover's safe return from war, they offer something precious of theirs to the gods above."_

_"I honestly believe that it is merely a way for depressed housewives and hopeful maidens to cling on to the faith that who they love will come back to them," she said, her lips curving upwards._

_"Is it not a good thing?" he asked. "It also gives the soldier hope, the belief that their patron gods would protect them regardless of the situation and take them home to their loved ones."_

_"Maybe, maybe not," she replied vaguely as he bent down and placed a kiss on the crown of her hair while she reached up and held on to one of his hands._

_The silence wasn't uncomfortable, but neither was it the warm, relaxed atmosphere she had gotten used to in his presence. Their eyes met in the mirror again, and though his lips was curved into the faintest of smiles, she thought she saw a hint of solemnity in his gaze._

_"What if I don't come back to you?"_

_Seconds, perhaps minutes slipped by. She stared at their interlocked fingers, suddenly feeling as if a noose had dropped around her neck._

_"I would travel to wherever you are and kidnap you," she said, almost jokingly. After a moment of pause, she asked, her voice almost teasing, "Are you hoping for me to … follow the traditions of your lands, Kunzite?" _

_When he didn't answer, a soft giggle left her lips. Turning her head slightly, she glanced at him askance. _

_"The women who pray … are betrothed to the soldiers, are they not?"_

_She turned her body halfway around so she could loop her arms around his neck as she gazed at him, curiosity and amusement covering up the glint of adoration in her eyes._

_"If the women prayed to gods … what would a goddess pray to?" she asked._

_He didn't immediately answer, as he placed a kiss on her eyes, her nose, her lips. _

_"Mars has to be getting her premonitions from somewhere," he whispered._

_The smile on his face was gentle, almost joking, but it caused a lump to form in her throat. Her eyes wavered for just as second before she unhooked one of her arms, allowing her fingers to brush through her golden locks._

_"Jadeite told me before …" she said softly, "in a part of his lands … strands of hair have a similar pronunciation to that of love." _

_He didn't answer as if he knew she wasn't finished speaking. Gazing back at him, she allowed a soft smile to appear on her face._

_"If you don't come back … I'll offer up the strands of my hair to the heaven, and hope that she will weave it into a trail in the stars, so that it'll lead you back to me."_

~-0-~


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**: Many thanks to those of you who've read, faved, and added to alerts! Huge thanks to Valkyrie Celes for reviewing!

~-0-~

**Chapter 2**

The chattering stopped the moment she stepped into the room. Rei's hand remained in midair, as if she were about to swat away Usagi who was trying to reach the manga she had in her other hand. Makoto's eyes were wide, the tea in her hand forgotten as she stared with her mouth wide open. Ami had stopped typing whatever she had been typing on her computer.

"Sorry for being late," Minako said as she stepped through the doorway.

Still no answer.

Plopping into her regular seat, it was when she had already helped herself to a third cookie when Usagi finally spoke.

"V-chan … your hair …"

After swallowing the bite in her mouth, Minako allowed a hand to brush through her shoulder-length hair.

"What about it?" she asked with a bright smile.

"You've cut it," Makoto said, her voice robotic.

"Yes, I suppose I did," she said cheerily.

"Why?" Rei demanded.

Minako lowered her eyes, taking a cup of tea between her hands. Blowing gently on the top of it, she took a sip before placing it back on the table.

"It's much more convenient, isn't it?" she asked. "I mean, look at the weather right now. It's a horror trying to sit outside and eat with long hair." She brushed her hand through her hair again. "Now, I won't have to worry about some unknown sauce clinging on to my hair and ruining my looks. Not that it'll be much of a difference really. Sauce or no sauce, I _am _the Goddess of Love and Beauty after all."

Rei narrowed her eyes at Minako while Makoto frowned.

"That … doesn't seem like a good reason to cut your hair," Usagi said slowly as she settled back into her seat. "You loved your hair!"

"Yeah, I still remember you stomping on the ashes of that youma that nearly burned your hair," Makoto mused out loud.

"Desperate inconvenience calls for desperate measures!" Minako said, placing a finger on Ami's mouth as the latter opened her mouth to correct her. "Everything in life is about weighing the pros and cons, Usagi-chan. Just because I love my hair, it doesn't change the fact that it sometimes gets in the way of more important things … like eating."

A look of realization appeared on Usagi's face.

"Eating is important to Usagi, but not nearly as important to you, Minako-chan. Are you sure you're not hiding something we're supposed to know about?" Rei asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Now, Rei-chan, what, exactly, would I be hiding?" Minako asked, tilting her head to one side.

"How am I supposed to know?" Rei huffed as she placed the manga Usagi had been trying to grab on the table. "But you're acting weird, and you only do that when there's something you don't want us to know."

"That's just you being paranoid," Minako said, rolling her eyes. "Be careful, Rei-chan, or else you'll probably start thinking that I'm hiding something if I buy new shoes."

Later, she would wonder if the exaggerated laugh she'd added to the end of her words was what tipped Rei and the others off, but at the moment, it seemed like the right thing to do.

Shooting her a look, Ami coughed into her hand before saying, "Perhaps … we should move on to the unnatural spike in power that the control center picked up on two days ago."

"Right," Makoto said, finally pulling her gaze away from Minako and placing it on Ami. "What was that all about anyway? There didn't seem to any attacks afterwards."

Ami nodded as she flipped around her laptop. "These are the statistics I've downloaded from the control center―" Recognizing the looks on her sister Senshi as confusion, she elaborated, "Each number is the highest percentage of power spikes of the day for the last four months. Apparently, there had been power spikes for three months already. We just hadn't noticed until this time."

"And yet everything is still suspiciously peaceful," Minako thought out loud.

Rei shot her a glance, making it obvious that she hadn't forgotten what they had been talking about before. "I've consulted the fire, but there seemed to be nothing wrong either."

Ami nodded again. "Though there were power spikes, there was no indication that the power itself is dark in origin."

"So it could be one of the good guys!" Usagi concluded.

"Usagi-chan," Makoto said with a soft laugh, "just because the origin of the power isn't dark, it doesn't necessarily mean the person using this power is a good person."

"It could very well be a bad person wielding a pure source of energy," Ami said.

Makoto placed a hand on Usagi's shoulder when a crestfallen look appeared on the latter's face. "We're not saying it's definitely a bad guy, Usagi-chan, but we can't rule out the possibility that there are still enemies out there that might pop out of nowhere before you and Mamoru-san become king and queen."

"Didn't Rei-chan mention that you had the feeling that something is coming?" Ami asked.

Rei sighed as she refilled the empty cups with tea. "I can't shake off the feeling that things are going to get more complicated before the arrival of the new era." She paused, casting a quick glance at Usagi, before adding, "It won't necessarily be bad things though."

"Well, we'll just have to keep an eye out and pay extra attention then," Minako said. "If anyone notices anything strange, we'll just alert everyone else about it."

After chatting for another five minutes or so, Ami soon packed up, having to leave for her afternoon classes. Makoto left with her, having a bakery to look after. Minutes later, Mamoru arrived and left with their Princess.

"Spill," Rei said the moment they were alone.

"Where?" Minako asked, looking around the table for tea spills.

"Stop playing dumb with me," Rei said, her violet eyes flashing in anger.

"You just said 'spill' so how am I―oh my god, Rei-chan, don't glare at me like that. It only works on Usagi-chan, but it totally ruins your beautiful features."

"I swear by the fire of Mars that I will burn you alive if you keep this act up," Rei growled through her teeth.

Minako sighed, her shoulders slumping. "I don't know what you want to know."

"Aino Minako―"

"I'm serious," Minako replied. "If you think I'm lying, you must have some ideas about what I'm lying about."

Rei opened and closed her mouth without saying anything twice before she sighed heavily. "I know you're hiding something."

"Aren't we all?" Minako asked softly.

Rei paused in her motions. The prolonged silence made Minako's spine crawl, so much that she started fidgeting around, trying to find a more comfortable position but to no avail.

"It's about _them _, isn't it?" Rei asked quietly.

"... No."

A wry smile appeared on Rei's face. "If you say so."

"Why would I cut my hair if it's because of _them _?" she asked.

She grounded her hands into the plushie she was sitting on when she caught Rei looking at the way she was twisting her fingers.

"We've all done dumb things for them," Rei said as she averted her gaze.

She placed the last of the teacups onto the plate and wiped the table before she fixed Minako with a stare again.

"And I doubt it will be the last time," she said. She tilted her head to one side as if in thought before she added, "Neither will the lying, it seems."

The familiar weight of guilt dropped down into Minako's stomach, and it felt heavier this time, yet she couldn't find the words to answer Rei as she watched the shrine maiden step out of the room with the teapot and teacups.

~-0-~

The attacks came in an unpredicted way.

It wasn't monsters or aliens as they had been expecting. Well, perhaps it **_was_ **monsters and aliens, or maybe it was something much closer to home. But apparently, attacking humans weren't at the forefront of their minds. No. It started with rumors, rumors that didn't sit well with any of them, and the person that seemed most unsettled by the whole thing was, strangely enough, Mamoru.

Then again, Minako supposed that she shouldn't have been surprised. After all, he had been the Prince of Earth, and the whole situation was a bit too reminiscent of what had happened all those years ago.

"Another one," Makoto shouted from Ami's desktop.

"What does it say?" Rei asked, her tone of voice bored.

Minako supposed she understood. She'd already used up her toes and fingers counting the amount of times Makoto had shouted from the computer, though she supposed the Martian princess didn't have the heart to rain on Makoto's parade and decided to amuse her.

"'If the Sailor Senshi are really champions of justice, why are they hiding their identities? They must be hiding their true agendas'," Makoto read off the Internet.

A small frown appeared Ami's forehead, but she didn't look away from her laptop so Minako wasn't really certain if she was scowling at her screen or what Makoto had said.

"Does their name start with 'b'?" Minako asked lazily from where she was lounging on the sofa.

"It's not Beryl, sorry," Makoto said as she clicked on something with the mouse.

"I was going for 'bitch' but that'll work, too," Minako said.

"What do they think they're accomplishing with this anyway?" Rei asked, annoyed.

Minako shrugged, and Ami finally looked up from what she was working on.

"They're trying to get the civilians afraid of us, much like … much like what Beryl had done," Ami said. "Granted, we had done many things to insure the safety of Earth, but people can be easily brainwashed. The fact that this is happening so close to when Usagi-chan should take the throne makes me worried."

"About what?" Makoto asked, finally peeling her eyes away from the screen.

"That this is what was needed to bring about the new era," Ami answered with a sigh.

Silence hung over the air. Makoto looked back at the computer screen, though she no longer looked through the hefty number of news, tweets, and posts condemning or questioning them. Ami resumed her typing, though the frown on her delicate features deepened. Surprisingly (or unsurprisingly, depending on how one looked at it), Rei was the only one who seemed calm about the news.

"What must come will come," Rei said quietly, as if she knew what Minako was thinking about.

The silence felt like a heavy weight upon them.

Minako wasn't sure about the others, but … it wasn't that she didn't want the future to come. They were promised a peace that would last almost a thousand years. But that also meant that they had to leave certain things behind, things that would be deemed unfit for defenders of the world.

Things that would be deemed unfit for guards to the new queen.

Minako felt a twinge of sadness, knowing that people would expect even more from their Princess.

"So what about these new enemies, eh? If this is the best they can do―" Makoto waved her hand towards the computer screen. "―then they really suck. I mean, they're completely ripping off Metallia and Beryl here."

"If anything, I'm just worried about Usagi-chan," Ami said.

"She's been through worse," Rei replied.

Ami shook her head. "She might be affected by the accusations at the beginning, but I know that she'll probably come up with some strange ideas to convince people that we don't have any hidden agendas. But if these things are bothering Mamoru-san, it's bound to make her upset as well."

_Hey, at least he doesn't have to worry about his guards getting brainwashed this time around!_

However, Minako hardly thought the others would appreciate her sense of humor at the moment, and therefore, she kept it to herself.

"And still no detection of negative energy?" Minako asked, looking at Ami.

"No," Ami answer with a shake of her head.

"Excellent," Minako said with a sigh. "Well, ladies, it seems that the only thing we can do is wait until they've launched their next plan of action, yes?"

"Seems like it," Rei said, raising an eyebrow.

"We'll stick to the usual. Anything strange, alert all button," Minako said, getting up from the sofa and stretching.

"Where are you going?" Makoto asked.

"Afternoon classes," Minako answered as she grabbed her bag and headed out the door. "See you girls later!"

~-0-~

Class was as boring as usual. As Minako walked out on to the street, she contemplated over the merits of choosing a class because the professor was cute before deciding it was a pointless argument with herself; she would've done the same thing if she'd gotten another chance to do it all over again anyway.

However, thoughts about the handsome professor slipped out of her mind as she felt her heart skip a beat. For a moment, she thought she might faint on the spot, but she didn't―_ thankfully _.

_This can't be happening―he's dead―he can't be just appearing here―_

_The attacks―why is there someone walking around looking just like _him _right now―what if he is the enemy AGAIN―_

_If he is resurrected, how did it happen?_

_But Ami said there weren't any detection of negative energies―_

She thought that it was utterly undesirable that the last couple of logical brain cells that hadn't blown up due to the shock felt that _this _was the perfect time to start arguing with one another. However, it was hardly more frustrating than the fact that her feet seemed to be planted where they were. It took her far too long to make them move, and by the time, she'd succeeded, he was already a street away from her.

Thankfully, her years of training as a Sailor Senshi weren't for nothing, and she started zipping down the street, hoping to catch up with him while doing her best to avoid bowling people over.

It was until a car rudely honked at her that she'd noticed that she'd almost crossed the street during the wrong light, and the cars had already created a barrier between her and her destination. By the time the light for pedestrians to cross lit up again, he was no longer in sight, but Minako was never one to give up so easily.

She was determined to find him. Perhaps he'd gone into one of the stores. Did he make a turn on one of the smaller alleys? Maybe one of the cars had been blocking her view.

By the time she was willing to finally acknowledge that she had, unfortunately, lost track of him, it was already an hour later.

The feeling of loss flooded her, dropping into her gut as she stared down the street, wondering if that image of him had been a figment of her imagination. Perhaps it was. After all, _he _was dead. She'd seen him die in front of her, hadn't she?

Her lips twisted into a sardonic smile. It wasn't like she could even lie to herself and pretend that it had been a silly nightmare of hers. Sadness twisted inside her, made worse by the fact about how silly she felt she was for hoping for the impossible to happen.

Dropping her head in resignation, she gave the street filled with strangers but no hint of the man she was looking for one last look before heading home.

~-0-~

It wasn't an obsession if she didn't do it constantly.

At least, it wasn't in her dictionary. To be fair, she wasn't even certain it was _him _she'd seen that day. However, she couldn't stop herself from looking, from allowing her gaze to flicker from person to person to see if they somehow resembled the man in her mind because maybe she'd just seen a man who resembled _him _.

She really couldn't tell if it were melancholy or relief she felt when her search came up fruitless.

She should move on. She knew she should. Disregarding what fortune tellers said, it didn't do well to dwell on what _could've _been, especially when it_couldn't _happen.

But things were always easier said than done, and every time she walked out of class, every time she was certain it was the spot she'd seen him, her eyes would automatically focus on the same area, wishing that she hadn't been wrong that day.

Nonetheless, days passed, and there was still no sign of him. Perhaps … it really had been her imagination.

That thought … hurt even more, the thought that she could miss someone so much that her mind was creating illusions to …

She didn't even know if it was to torture her or make her feel better any longer. Either option was painful, and neither of them was acceptable.

Luckily, the other Senshi didn't seem to notice something was off with her. Or at least, she thought they didn't. At least they hadn't questioned her about her whereabouts or pointed out that something was off about her. Those should be signs that they hadn't noticed anything, right?

"Hey, pretty lady."

She heard one day as she was walking down the street from class. A smile curved the corners of her lips upwards.

Without turning around, she said, "Don't you know that it is very rude to flirt with strangers on the street?" Slowly turning around, she added, "_ Especially _ when you have a fiancée?"

Haruka chuckled. "Guess you can say I was caught in the act then." Tilting her head to one side, she said, "Hop on in the car."

"What did I say about flirting?" Minako joked as she got into the sports car.

Haruka shrugged. "Hey, it worked in the end, didn't it? I now have a beautiful lady sitting in the passenger seat. Victory for me."

Minako giggled as Haruka pulled the car into drive.

"So, beautiful lady, do you have free time available for me to kidnap you?"

Casting a quick glance at Haruka, Minako's lips curved into a faint smile before she answered. "That depends on where you want to kidnap me."

"A new mall opened this past Friday. Something tells me that you would be interested," Haruka answered.

"Hm … it would be a sin to turn down an offer to go to the mall, wouldn't it?" she asked.

With a chuckle, Haruka swerved the car into the traffic towards their destination.

~-0-~

"So," Minako said after she swallowed a spoonful of ice cream, "Which of them sent you?"

Haruka gazed at her.

"Don't tell me you don't know what I'm talking about," Minako said, pointing her spoon at Haruka. "The Haruka-san I know wouldn't suddenly appear out of nowhere _just _to take me to the mall."

Haruka chuckled before she looked at Minako. "They're worried about you."

Though her tone of voice was serious, Minako was pretty sure she didn't imagine the tinge of affection in there.

"I know they are," she admitted. "They had been ever since I cut off my hair."

"Why did you cut it off?" Haruka asked, curiosity lighting up her eyes.

Minako shrugged. "Maybe I just wanted a change."

Haruka looked at her before shrugging too. "If you say so."

The perfectly manicured hand holding a spoon stopped in midair for a short moment before it lowered, placing the spoon back into the cup.

"I'd assumed that you would've asked me more questions. Or maybe keep demanding for answers," Minako muttered.

" … Sometimes … there are things we'd rather not tell others, regardless of whether we trust that person or not." She gave a short pause, "I don't deny that sometimes I still wonder if the four of you are strong enough—"

"You know, you can easily just tell us that you care for and worry about us," Minako interrupted.

Haruka shot her a glare before continuing to say, "As I was saying, despite doubting your maturity, I do realize that there are some things you have to face on your own."

"Hm …" Minako hummed in thought, surprised that Haruka was actually not flipping out over this.

"That's not a promise that I won't blow _them _up into smithereens if they do come back to life though," Haruka suddenly added, causing Minako to choke on the ice cream she'd just stuffed into her mouth.

~-0-~


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**: Many thanks to those who've read, faved, and added to alerts! Huge, huge thanks to those of you who've reviewed: Bethany89, Valkyrie Celes, and Kitsune Ink!

~-0-~

**Chapter 3**

What Minako really, really wanted to know was who'd thought it was a good idea to tell Haruka, out of all people, about _them _. However, she wasn't Rei. She wasn't the type who would tell people off when she knew that they'd done it because they were worried about her.

As much as she liked the Outer Senshi, she would've preferred for them to stay out of matters that concerned the Shitennou.

Then again, she couldn't be absolutely certain that her sister Senshi were the ones who'd told Haruka. After all, Haruka hadn't exactly said either or, and Michiru did have that magic mirror thingie. It wasn't all that far-fetched to assume that they'd seen something and had confronted the others about it.

But apparently, her worries were for naught. It had been six months since Haruka paid her a visit, and she'd cut her hair two times already, and everything else was unsurprisingly normal.

Except for an increase in the rumors. Mamoru got increasingly agitated with each passing day without leads to the cause, and as a result, everyone else became more solemn around him. Not that Minako could blame him. After all, Usagi's ascension to the throne was quickly approaching, and she, too, hoped that she could do so without a fight. However, she also knew that the possibility of that happening was close to nil, and she didn't need Ami's computer and calculation skills to figure that out. People never did well with changes, especially one as big as the one that was heading their way.

Therefore, meetings were more frequent and longer, as they prepared themselves for the best plan of action should they get into trouble with civilians—after all, these were _humans _they were talking about, not some monster infused with the power of Chaos.

She had been on her way to another meeting at Rei's temple. Really, it was just another ordinary day. The rain made the spring breeze just a tad bit cooler than it would've been had it been sunny, and it would've been bearable, if she had an umbrella. Minako had learned early on to never listen to the weather forecast unless you wanted lies, and unfortunately, today had been _that _day when the weatherman was correct.

Thankfully, it was just a small drizzle, or else she would've been thoroughly drenched. Nonetheless, she hugged her books a bit closer than she usually did as she waited for the bus to arrive. She had a meeting to run to—she was, unsurprisingly, late again, but she was pretty certain she would've still been earlier than Usagi.

And then, the rain stopped—or at least for her. It didn't take her too long to realize that someone was now sharing their umbrella with her, and she turned around to face her savior with a brilliant grin.

"Tha—"

The words got caught in her throat as she stared, thoughts about the meeting gone in for that instant.

She only noticed how a spark of gentle endearment and amusement appeared in his silver eyes. She only noticed the tenderness in his gaze that was reminiscent of a moment lost in time that she had kept close to heart for so many centuries. She only saw the way the soft breeze caught in his silver-grey hair, strangely making her feel as if he was going to disappear in front of her.

Then, the smile on his face, a gentle smile that she'd dreamed and cried about when she was certain no one would be around to witness it, blossomed on his face as a single word dropped from his lips.

"Venus."

~-0-~

Did dreams come true?

If you asked Minako Aino, she would tell you, with a smile that shined brighter than any star in the universe, that they do. She knew it was a lie, but the important part was that the person she was talking to didn't.

However, as she walked down the street quietly with him by her side, she was almost tempted to believe that dreams truly did come true, if one wished hard enough for them.

"When did you come back?" she asked softly, finally breaking the silence that had lingered over them while they'd walked.

From the corner of her eye, she saw him tilt his head slightly in order to look at her. "Three months ago."

She hummed in response as she lowered her eyes, staring at her shoes as if she were watching out for puddles.

"All four of us are back," he offered, as if he knew what she was going to ask next.

"I'm surprised they didn't immediately search out my sisters," she said almost jokingly.

"I am too," he said, and she heard amusement in his voice. A short pause followed before he added, "But we all know we have amends to make. We hope that our Prince will accept us as his guards once more because we've proven to be trustworthy, rather than it be an act of his nostalgia."

"Duty first … as usual."

He stopped in his tracks, placing a hand on her shoulder. She kept her gaze on his hand as his other hand ran through a lock of her hair.

"Things are different. **_We_** are different. We know … **_I_** know we are on the same side of the battle now. This time, we can make things work," he said softly.

A glimmer of sadness passed through her eyes before she tilted her head upwards and smiled at him. "I know. This time … we will make it work."

He returned her smile as his hand dropped downwards and she laced her fingers with his as they walked down the street.

"When do you plan on letting him know of your return?" she asked as she brushed her free hand through her hair.

He gave a small pause before answering, "I don't believe we've paid for our sins yet."

"You know well enough that neither of them would want you to pay for anything," she answered.

"That's why it's even more important for us to stay away until we feel that we'd done enough to atone for our sins."

A small laugh left her lips. "You know … that's what I'd always loved and hated the most about you."

He gazed at her askance, a small smile on his lips. "Oh?"

She nodded, a melancholy smile lingering on her lips. "We seem so different yet … when the masks fall away, it's undeniable that we both value our duties, enough to sacrifice everything."

She watched as the smile on his face grew and he placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

_Yet, you will never know that that is the one thing that I hate seeing in you at this moment._

~-0-~

"Rei-chan is upset with you."

Minako kept her eyes on the menu for a second longer before she languorously tilted her head upwards to look at Ami as she rested her chin on a propped up hand.

"When is she not?"

Ami didn't immediately answer, as a waitress sauntered up to their table to get their orders. After the waitress left to drop their orders off with the chef, she fixed Minako with a sharp gaze.

"You missed more than two meetings last week and you weren't there yesterday. She's getting suspicious," Ami said matter-of-factly.

"Of what? That I'm quitting the team and handing over the position of leader to her?" Minako joked.

"Not a wise choice if you value your hair and face," Ami deadpanned.

"I'd thought she would've gone with the eyes first," Minako mused out loud.

"That's only collateral damage. You know well enough that she'd go for anything the other party values the most," Ami said with a raised eyebrow.

Minako scrunched up her face. "That makes me sound like a shallow girl who only cares about her looks."

Ami didn't answer, choosing to look at her, causing her to burst out into giggles.

"Okay, okay, maybe I am a bit shallow," Minako said, waving a hand at Ami. She then sighed, placing her arms on the table and resting her chin on them.

Ami peered at her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Minako raised an eyebrow at Ami though she didn't move from her position. "About how I'm shallow?"

"Of course not," Ami said, raising her eyebrows, too, before her face softened. "You just seem kind of upset."

"... Do I?"

"It's your emotions. You should know better than I," Ami replied, leaning back in her seat and lacing her fingers before placing them on her thighs, a look of calm attentiveness on her face.

As per usual, she didn't press on, something Minako was grateful about. It wasn't until they were halfway through their meals when Minako broke the comfortable silence hanging over them.

"Men suck."

Ami put down her fork and took a sip of water with a thoughtful look on her face before she answered, "That's what you said before you met Akio-san."

"Who?" Minako asked with a frown midbite.

"Akio-san. Three boyfriends before. The one who's a firefighter," Ami replied.

"Ohhh, him," Minako replied. "I like dating, romance, flowers, and all that jazz, but it doesn't mean men don't suck."

Ami mulled it over before nodding. "Fair enough." She paused again before adding, "So Rei-chan was right."

Minako raised an eyebrow at her. "What did Rei say this time?"

"That you must be having boy problems."

"Well—" Minako crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue. "—to her."

Ami let out a small laugh. "Her prediction doesn't stop her from worrying about you though."

"There's nothing to worry about," Minako reassured Ami.

The expression on Ami's face suddenly turned solemn, yet her gaze was still oh so gentle. Minako often wondered how she managed to pull that one off. However, when Ami had **_that_ **look, she knew better than to make jokes about whatever she had to say next.

"She's worried that it's about the Shitennou," Ami said quietly.

Minako stared at her. For a moment, she didn't know **_what_ **to say.

"She was pretty certain she'd seen something about them in the fire the other day," Ami said. "But when she tried to dig deeper, nothing came up."

Minako didn't answer, choosing to push the spaghetti on her plate around instead. Ami opened her mouth but closed it again without saying anything.

Silence hung over them again, but this time, it felt suffocating, as if it were just seconds from strangling her. Her appetite slipped away with the passing seconds, and she couldn't bring herself to pretend she was enjoying her meal. Finally, she dropped the fork back on the table, grabbed a napkin, and took her time in wiping her mouth with it. She didn't need her mirror to know how her expression would look like if it weren't hidden by that simple piece of paper. The tenseness she felt in her facial muscles was enough of a hint.

"You would tell us if they are back to life, right?" Ami asked.

Her voice was so soft that Minako would've assumed she'd heard wrong—if she hadn't already anticipated the question.

Wiping her mouth one more time, Minako closed her eyes for a split second before looking up at Ami with a reassuring smile.

"Of course I will."

~-0-~

_"Why do you love looking at the ocean so much?"_

_He didn't immediately answer as he brushed his hand through her golden locks, and with an uncharacteristically gentle manner, undid the knots in them._

_"There are legends that Terrans came from the sea," he said._

_She leaned backwards towards him, resting her head in the nook of his neck as one of her hands reached up to touch him on his cheek._

_"Looking for a mermaid lover?" she teased._

_She felt more than heard his laughter at her words, and a small smile played at the corner of her lips._

_"Then I probably should've looked towards the skies, rather than the ocean," he said softly, causing a blush to blossom on her cheeks._

_"You can't find mermaids in the skies," she said, swatting him on the arm that circled her waist._

_"No, I can't," he agreed, placing a kiss on the top of her head. "There are only goddesses in the skies." He paused for a short second before he continued to speak. "Some people in my tribe used to say, the sea has the strange ability to calm our hearts and ease our minds because that is where we come from. It's the same comfort we have when we are at home, at the safest haven we can find."_

_"I reckon most people would find it strange that you, out of all people, who protect others would need to find a safe haven at times, too," she teased as she turned her head upwards to look at his face._

_His smile had a tinge of bitterness to it, causing something to tug at her heart. She kissed the spot between his neck and chin, almost wishing she could kiss his worries away._

_"It's about the call for war between the Terrans and the Lunarians, isn't it?" she asked._

_He didn't answer, but the way his gaze shifted when she asked was more than enough._

_"It is a blessing that Endy … is in love with Princess Serenity," he said softly._

_She bit down on her lower lip. She didn't even need to imagine what would happen if their lieges weren't madly in love with one another. Both of them would readily choose their lieges over anything else._

_The irony of the avatar of love choosing duty over romance did not escape her, leaving a sour taste in her mouth._

_Swallowing hard and brushing that thought away, she closed her eyes, snuggled into him, and echoed his words, "It is a blessing."_

~-0-~

She didn't know why she told Ami, but she did. So somehow, the two of them ended up taking the train to Shimoda by themselves without telling the rest of the Senshi with two duffel bags and a strangely lighter heart.

"Perhaps the noisiness is getting to you," Ami replied when Minako spoke out loud about that feeling of ease.

It took Minako a fraction of a second before she recognized the mischievous glint in the other girl's eyes.

"I would've tickled you to death if I didn't need a pillow on the train ride back to Tokyo," she threatened.

"I'm absolutely terrified," Ami deadpanned.

The hotel they'd booked was comfortable, despite the room being so small. Yet, it did nothing to dampen the mood as she threw open the window, closed her eyes, and inhaled the sea breeze.

"Seems like coming here was the right decision," Minako murmured to herself as she allowed the sun rays to tickle her skin.

"Seems like it," Ami replied.

Minako turned her head around and looked at her.

Ami tilted her head to one side. "You seem happier."

Minako had always known that her sisters cared for her, just as much as she cared for them. But somehow, those simple words suddenly touched her.

"Thank you, Ami-chan, for coming with me," Minako said.

"Thank you for inviting me."

Minako grinned at her to which she replied with a smile of her own.

"So which beach do you plan to visit?" Ami asked as she took out her mini-computer to look through the options they had.

"Not very sure yet," Minako answered as she sat down on the bed next to her and placed her head on Ami's shoulder. "Are you looking for recommendations online?"

A blush appeared on Ami's face. "No … our system actually updates the statistics of different places on Earth, so … if you wanted to go to a less crowded beach …"

"Aha! Our dear Senshi of Mercury committing a crime!" Minako teased, pumping a fist into the air.

"It's **_not_ **a crime. I'm just using the resources available at hand," Ami protested, though the blush on her face didn't go away. "And besides, there's no rules saying we can't use the computer database like this."

Minako giggled and wrapped her arms around Ami. "No, there isn't, and if I have any say in this, there will never be a rule like that," she said before giving Ami a kiss on the cheek.

Though it surprised Ami, Minako opted to visit one of the less crowded beaches, and they ended up spending a couple of hours there.

"Perhaps we should get the others to come along with us next time," Minako said aloud as she pushed her sunglasses into place.

"I wasn't certain you would appreciate the others knowing," Ami said, peering over the top of her book.

She resumed her reading when Minako laughed it off with some joke that even Minako herself didn't quite understand.

~-0-~

Strangely enough, even though she'd spent most of the day traveling and at the beach, she didn't feel sleepy that night.

Ami stirred in her bed when Minako got out of hers. Minako froze, worried that she might've woken Ami up. However, when she heard the rhythmic breathing from the other bed, she let out a sigh of relief.

After quietly changing her clothes, she grabbed her henshin pen—one could never be **_too_ **sure after all—and headed out the door.

The walk to the beach was … nice. For the first time, Minako wondered if Ami was correct in assessing that maybe the noisiness **_was_ **getting to her.

_Or maybe like _he _said, the ocean calms one's heart._

She shook that thought from her head, unwilling to think about **_him_ **out of all people for that moment. She had to face her demons when she returned home, so she wasn't going to do it **_now_ **.

Or that was what she'd thought, until she saw a familiar figure standing on the beach.

She mentally listed the merits of heading back to the hotel before she decided against it. Even if she didn't face it tonight, she'd have to face it one of these days. Perhaps sooner rather than later would be a welcomed relief. Maybe she could finally let go of those false expectations after confronting the demon.

"Fancy seeing you here!" she called out as she trekked over the sand over to where he was standing.

He turned around with just enough of a smile to hide the uneasiness in his eyes. He didn't say anything, even when she'd reached where he was standing, opting to observe her actions.

She kicked off her sandals and drew random things on the sand with her toe. With her head down, she was given the time and space needed to contemplate on what to say next.

"I just hope you don't find me an unwelcome intruder," he finally said.

She paused in her actions, closing her eyes for a split second, before she looked up at him with a smile. "What made you think that way?"

"You left without saying a word," he pointed out.

She dug her toes into the sand. "I just needed to be away for some stress relief. It's not like I was going to be away forever."

Shooting him another smile, she stuck her hands into the back pockets of her shorts and shuffled forward until she was in the water. The cold that met her made her more awake than ever and momentarily eased the pain in her heart.

"It's moments like this that makes me feel like you would suddenly disappear in front of me," he said, following closely behind her.

She turned around and looked at him. "You should know better than I do that I won't be going anywhere."

As long as her Princess needed her protection, she would be around.

She tilted her head to one side. "If it's any consolation, you often make me feel the same way."

His facial expression softened. Looking at him was almost painful, causing her to close her eyes, as if only listening to his voice would make it less so.

"I'm not going anywhere anymore."

"You always make promises that you can't keep."

"This time, I'll keep my promise," he whispered.

The smile on her face was melancholy as she felt her heart constrict in pain. Forcing herself to open her eyes, she realized that her eyesight was blurred by tears before she blinked them away. As he wiped the tears that fell down her cheeks, she brought her face closer to his.

"No, you'll still break your promise," she murmured.

She kissed him briefly before pulling away.

"Because you're not him."

~-0-~


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**: Many thanks to those of you who've read, added to faves, and added to alerts! Huge, huge thanks to those of you who've reviewed: Bethany89, James Birdsong, and Valkyrie Celes!

James Birdsong: Thanks for the compliment, reading, and reviewing! Hope you enjoy this chapter too!

~-0-~

**Chapter 4**

The man facing her screamed and disintegrated before she had the time to even call on her powers, causing her to blink in surprise.

She whipped her head around, and found, much to her disbelief, a near carbon copy of the man who'd she'd just been talking to mere seconds ago standing in the sand, cold fury etched on his features and present in his stance.

Her shock was so prominent that she almost didn't notice the other person standing next to him. She certainly didn't notice a particularly powerful ocean wave heading towards her.

"Watch out—" Mamoru called out in alarm before the wave crashed into her, causing her to go off balance.

A shrill shriek left her lips before she found herself submerged in water, flailing to find her footing before she was firmly grasped by someone and dragged out to safety. The worry on his face was evident as he ran his eyes over her body, checking for any signs of wounds before he proceeded to attempt to drag her out of the water though she refused to move from her spot.

"You're another fake," she said, almost as if she was trying to convince herself. "Oh, come on. This is cheating. One is enough already."

He looked at her again, exasperation written all over his face. However, she must have the look of someone who wouldn't budge unless he used force. He relented with a sigh and cast a minor ward over the area so that they wouldn't find themselves hit by the next wave.

Then again, Minako was pretty certain that had Ami been there, she would've been rattling off about how the particularly huge wave was the consequence of the power being released by the disintegration of the impostor. Or something similar to that. Minako didn't really care at the moment.

"He's not another fake, Minako-san," Mamoru called out, as if he'd heard what she'd said. More than likely, he'd deduced what she must have been thinking.

"How could he not be another fake? It had all been a lie. The psychic, that meeting … everything had been a calculated move to get more information about the Senshi after that woman read it off me," Minako argued half-heartedly though she kept her eyes on the man in front of her, as though she was afraid that he would disappear, too.

The man didn't answer, the expression on his face alternating between relief, anger, and tenderness as he, too, kept his eyes on her.

"Do you really have to chat while standing in the ocean?" Mamoru called out.

The man finally tore his gaze from Minako and turned his head towards his liege, gesturing his hand towards Minako to indicate that she was the one who didn't want to get out of the water. However, Minako quickly placed both of her hands on his cheeks, turning his face around so that she was looking at him again.

"You're not real," she said shakily.

She had prepared herself to kill the impostor. She really did. However … she didn't think she could handle having to watch **_two_ **of him disintegrate into thin air on the same night.

"Venus—" he started to say.

She shook her head. "No, no, no, you don't get to 'Venus' me again. I nearly would've fallen for it if he hadn't realized that he was giving me way too much information before I asked for it. I'm not going to fall for it this time around either."

"Minako."

Her name sounded … prettier than usual coming out of his mouth, with his voice. She'd give him that. But she still refused to fall for it. Then again, how did he know her name? From the psychic?

Her hands dropped downwards, and she grasped onto his shirt, almost as if she wanted to be certain that he was there. Her uncertainty with the whole situation must have been obvious to him because his eyes softened as he reached up and pushed a few of the wet locks of hair out of her face.

Then, the sun rose over the horizon. Light spilled over the water and chased the darkness away. The stars dimmed ever so slightly, unwilling to bid farewell until the last moment.

She dimly recalled that this meant that she hadn't slept for the whole night. She wasn't exactly in the best condition to figure out if the person who was standing in front of her was a fake or not.

A muffled laugh caused her to look at him. The look on his face was so **_familiar_**, one that she had seen so many times when she did something silly in the past that she felt the balance of trust in her mind tip in his favor.

With his hand resting on her shoulder, he gently brushed a thumb over her cheek, and she felt something leap in joy within her, as if that something somehow recognized him as **_him_ **—something that hadn't occurred with the impostor. A warmth spread through her, and she closed her eyes, almost as if she wanted to remember this exact moment.

But should she believe him? Was he real?

She nearly couldn't trust herself anymore. But didn't she almost immediately recognized the impostor for what he was? But what if this was someone who was even more powerful, someone who knew more about what happened between her and Kunzite, someone who knew how to pretend to be him flawlessly?

"What happened to your hair?" was the question that brought her mental barrage of questions to a halt.

"Huh?" She opened her eyes and looked at him in confusion.

There was a frown on his face, and he was looking at her hair as if he'd just seen something extremely disagreeable for him.

"Your hair. You'd cut it," he said, the creases on his forehead deepening.

She brushed her free hand through her hair, wincing when she realized that it wasn't as easy to run her fingers through it now that it was wet.

Suddenly, realization dawned on his face. "You … did it because of your promise?"

"I—" she started to say before her words were cut off by a shout.

"Endy!"

She turned her head and found the other Shitennou running up to where Mamoru was standing.

"What happened to the fake?" Zoisite, being the quickest of the three to reach Mamoru, asked.

Mamoru gestured towards Kunzite.

"He's the impostor? Where's Kunzi—excuse me, where's **_Kisho_ **?" Zoisite asked.

"That is Kisho-chan," Mamoru replied.

"Kisho! What happened to the impostor!?" Zoisite hollered over the crash of the waves.

Nonetheless, Kunzite—or she supposed his name this time around was Kisho—thoroughly ignored him as he kept his eyes on Minako.

"Perhaps … we should go back to the shore," Minako suggested slowly.

It wasn't like she could figure out if he was the real one or the fake one by standing in the ocean. Besides, things would probably be much easier to figure out with Ami around.

Yet, this time, it was Kisho who wouldn't budge from his spot as he stared at her, waiting for her explanation.

"... Can't we talk about this later?" she asked, but he still didn't move. She sighed. "I'm getting cold. So, so cold. I might get sick because of the cold. I think I might be getting a fever." Grabbing his hand, she placed it on her forehead. "Does it feel hotter than usual to you? I think I feel like I might start coughing too."

Her award-deserving performance was met with a look of disbelief. He didn't even look worried when she'd told him she might be getting sick. Maybe he really was an impostor?

However, before she could continue down that train of thought, he looked towards the rising sun with a sigh. Grabbing her hand, he led her out of the water over to where Mamoru and the others were congregated.

"So where's the fake?" Zoisite asked. "Also, hi, V-chan."

She blinked when he called her that. An age-old memory, one that she wasn't even certain she had, came the surface of her mind. While he hadn't called her that back in the past, she remembered, at that moment, how General Zoisite of Terra would often say the same things or called people the same nicknames as Princess Serenity; she even recalled Jupiter asking, jokingly, if he had Lunarian blood in him.

That made her suspicions towards them drop considerably.

"The impostor got … turned into dust," Mamoru said with some difficulty, as a strange expression appeared on his face. It almost seemed as if he couldn't decide if he wanted to be exasperated or amused.

"What? Why? Did he attack?" Zoisite asked, confused.

Loud laughter rent the air as Nephrite and Jadeite ambled over to where they were standing.

"Bet you a million US dollars that it was because he'd gotten too touchy feely with Venus," Nephrite said, the laughter still not completely out of his voice. However, he immediately quieted down when cold, gray eyes looked towards his way.

"Dammit, Kisho! That was our only lead to the enemy," Zoisite complained.

"It's fine, Zenshi-chan," Mamoru spoke up. "I doubt this is the last time they are going to strike."

"Right," Jadeite said, his posture more like a soldier standing at attention than anything else. "Helios did mention to us that the ascension is approaching us soon. The enemies would do anything within their power to stop that from happening."

Mamoru gave him a nod.

"Wait, what about Helios? What enemies are we talking about?" Minako asked.

Before Mamoru could answer, Kisho spoke up, "Perhaps we should talk about this when we go back to Tokyo. I'm certain the others would want to hear about this, too."

Minako gave him a dirty look that spoke well of her displeasure that her curiosity wasn't going to be immediately satisfied, but she relented, knowing that what he said was true.

"I need to go back to the hotel first though," Minako said.

"Yeah, I don't think they'll let you onto the train like this," Zoisite—** _Zenshi_ **—said, eyeing her wet clothes.

"Well, there's someone else here with me, too, that I should notify to go back to Tokyo with me," Minako said.

"Oh, who? Artemis?" Zenshi asked.

"Just a friend," Minako answered with a straight face.

The look on her face was one of pure glee when she turned around though. The smile on her face was so wide that even Kisho looked a bit concerned when he first noticed it on her face.

She hoped Zenshi's reaction to seeing Ami would be excellent future blackmail material.

~-0-~

"Does he **_have_ **to live with us?" Artemis whined as he sauntered onto the balcony where Minako was standing.

"They literally have nowhere else to stay. I can't expect all of them to live in Mamoru-san's apartment," Minako said, though she couldn't bring herself to look into Artemis's eyes.

Okay, so she did have ulterior motives, such as spending more time with her returned past lover so they could catch up, but that was one small detail that Artemis didn't have to know.

"You just want to spend more time with him," Artemis said suspiciously.

"That's not true," she said, her eyes widening as she took the spray bottle next to her and spritzed him with it.

"HEY!" Artemis protested as he jumped onto the sunchair to avoid having the water sprinkled over him. "It has to be true and where in the world did you get that spray bottle? I don't even remember you having it."

"Mako-chan bought it for me last time, when she was teaching me how to plant tomatoes," she replied with a shrug as she placed the spray bottle back on top of the rail. "And no, it's not true."

"The tomatoes that died before they even sprouted?" Artemis asked with a vicious undertone. "And I know you well enough to know that it is true."

"It's my first time. What did you expect? It's not like I have Mako-chan's green hands," Minako said with a roll of her eyes. "And no, it's not! You don't know me as well as you wished you did. And besides, **_I_ **was the one who'd asked if Rei-chan was willing to let them stay at the temple, remember?""

"It's 'green thumb', stupid," Artemis said. "And did you really think you're tricking anyone? Even Rei-chan looked amused when you asked. **_And_ **I don't call you out all the time because it's pointless, but I called it this time: He's definitely here because you wanted to spend more time with him."

"Oh shush. Stop being annoying just because there's an alpha male in your territory," Minako said, grabbing the spray bottle and squirting him again, this time landing a hit.

Artemis bristled. "Stop spraying me with water!"

His sudden stop in barraging her with accusations surprised her, causing her to turn around. A soft blush appeared on her face when she saw Kisho standing there, only wearing boxers. He raised an eyebrow at her when his eyes met hers and she almost thought it was because he'd overheard what they were talking about.

"... Why are you spraying him with water?" he asked.

Minako relaxed. Turning around, she leaned against the rail and gazed at him with a faint smile. "Because he's being annoying."

"** _You're_ **annoying." Artemis glared at her before jumping onto the rail.

"Going over to Usagi-chan's place?" Minako asked, finally tearing her eyes away from Kisho's sculpted chest and sparing Artemis a glance.

"Well, I needed **_some_ **place to go to in order to get away from all the lovey-dovey stuff that's bound to happen," Artemis shot back.

He jumped off the rail onto the sidewalk, avoiding the whack Minako sent his way. She could vaguely see him sticking his tongue out at her before heading down the street towards Mamoru and Usagi's apartment.

"Stupid cat," Minako muttered under her breath with endearment before she turned towards Kisho again.

A smile tugged at the corner of her lips when she noticed the look on Kisho's face. Of course, he was still rather expressionless—to those who didn't know him well enough—but she could detect an extra uneasiness to his posture.

Covering his mouth with a hand, he let out a small cough.

"Will he be okay?" he asked, very obviously trying to look less awkward.

Minako shrugged. "He can take care of himself just fine." The smile on her face grew. "Are **_you_ **okay?"

He stared at her. "What do you mean?"

She gave him a wink. "Is everything to your liking?"

He stared at her, obviously a bit perplexed in regards to how to answer her ambiguous question.

She took pity on him—after all, from what they had discussed in the meeting they'd held after returning from Shimoda, it appeared that the Shitennou had rushed out of Elysion before they should after they knew about the possibility of war.

Tilting her head to one side, she smiled at him. "Just worried about how the four of you are settling in."

He lowered his gaze as if in thought before answering, "We don't really recall what happened before Beryl got a hold on us, but we do have vague memories of how certain things work in the world."

The smile melted from her face. With a sigh, she shuffled over and hooked her arms around his neck, placing her cheek on his shoulder.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to make you remember those events," she softly said.

He froze on the spot, though she wasn't certain if it was because of her action or words. Then, she felt his body relax as he picked up his hand and stroked her hair.

"I can't say it no longer give us nightmares," he said quietly, "but … it did help us to grow."

She tilted her head upwards, looking at him questioningly. He met her gaze. The emotions in his eyes were complicated, so she waited for him to elaborate.

"All of us were too naïve in the past," Kisho said. "We believed we could take on the world, defeat any obstacle that stood in our way. We were too sure of ourselves. We thought that there was nothing out there that could shake us, could tear our loyalty away from Endy."

He paused for a moment, his gaze now taking on a faraway look as he turned to look frontwards, as if he were looking at the night view. However, Minako knew. His mind had taken a trip to a time when humans were wary about the witches from the skies, to a time when a Terran prince fought a losing battle for the love of his life to be accepted by his people, to a time when four loyal generals fell from grace into a grasp of a twisted witch and her dark queen.

Lacing her fingers with his, she gave his hand a squeeze, hoping to give him whatever support she could. He shook his head, as he looked towards her again, a faint smile on his face, a smile so melancholy that she wished she could kiss it away.

"We know that there are weaknesses in our bonds now," Kisho continued to say, giving her hand a squeeze back. "An unknown enemy is harder to defeat than one in the open. It'll be harder for future threats to use that against us."

Minako mulled over what he said before she nodded. Wasn't that precisely how all of them had grown after all? Learning one's weakness often helped them grew.

"I know you can do it," she said softly.

They stood there quietly for a short moment before Minako spoke up again.

"So what about our new enemies? Zenshi had said that that fake was your only lead to them."

He scowled when she talked about the fake and didn't answer. His gaze was so strict that she was almost under the impression that she had done something wrong. Then—

Oh. **_Oh_ **.

"Erm … so … how do we—"

"You're trying to change the subject on me," Kisho said, closing his eyes in frustration.

"It wasn't a topic in the first place!" she exclaimed.

He opened his eyes and gave her a look, telling her wordlessly about his feeling in regards to her assessment.

"It was only a tactic to get him to talk," she said.

"You literally just called him out on being an impostor," he pointed out. "I'm also rather curious about how you plan on getting him to talk when you're locking lips with him."

"It was just a peck on the lips! Plenty of friends share those kinds of kisses!" she protested.

He clenched and unclenched his fists without answering, the displeasure quite obvious from the stiffness of his muscles and the stony expression on his face.

"It's not like I'm kissing him the way I would kiss you," she said.

His eyes flickered for a split second, so quickly that most people would've missed it. However, he continued to remain silent, staring ahead of him as if there was something particularly interesting on the rooftop of the house across the street from them.

"I don't snuggle with him," she said, rubbing her cheek against his shoulder again. "And I don't hug him like this." She tightened the hold she had around him and kissed him on the bottom of his chin.

He let out a light cough, and a Cheshire-cat-like grin appeared on her face. However, when she tilted her head up to kiss him on the lips, he ducked away.

"Oye!"

He didn't answer. Instead, he pulled away from her and walked inside with her in tow.

"I don't remember you being so … so stick in the mud about it," she said.

"Then you don't remember me well enough," he finally said, throwing her a glance.

Her mouth dropped open, thoroughly offended and just a bit surprised that he admitted to being a stick in the mud. "I knew he was a fake when I first met him. Bet you can't say the same if you saw someone imitating me!"

He threw her another glance, thoroughly unimpressed by what she was saying.

"... I didn't even know that you were going to come back to life," she said.

"And that's a good reason to kiss him?" he asked in return.

"I missed you."

He stopped in his tracks and stared at her, surprised by her sudden admission.

She bit down on her lower lip, suddenly shy. However, she was never one to back down because of timidness—that was, mostly, Ami's job.

Slumping down onto the couch, she sighed. "I missed you. I know it was selfish of me, but hey, he was sent to get information from me, too, so I figured, there's no harm in using him because … I knew, after that first meeting with him, that the psychic was lying to me. That … also meant that there's a chance that I would never see you again."

Her eyes stung, and momentarily, her vision blurred as she blinked her tears away before they could fall. After all, everything was okay right now. He was back. Except for the occasional enemies, everything should be fine from now on.

At least, that was what she told herself. Whenever she remembered that moment when she realized that the psychic was using memories to create lies, Minako would feel the same phantom feeling of her stomach dropping to her feet, nearly making her heave or cry or both.

She waited for him to speak. However, after a while, she took a peek at him and found him still staring. When he noticed she was looking at him, he recomposed himself and sat down in the armchair across from her.

"From what we had gathered, the enemies are a group of reincarnated nobles from the past," Kisho said instead.

The sudden change of topic was a bit awkward, in Minako's honest opinion, but she was, altogether, more than happy to get away from the previous subject.

She nearly reminded him that she was at the meeting when Zenshi mentioned as much, but she decided against it. After all, they nearly had a quarrel, just seconds earlier.

"They object to Mamoru-san's ascension? Or because he's getting married to Usagi-chan? And how did they get their memories back anyway?" she asked instead.

"I don't think they have all of their memories back," Kisho replied. "Beryl's family had been extremely interested in mysticism—the psychic you'd met might've been a relative of hers—and I wouldn't be surprised if they dabbled in things that had to do with witchcraft and magic."

Minako snorted derisively. "And they called us 'witches from the sky'."

Kisho took a deep breath. It was followed by a short pause before he said, "They'd needed a scapegoat. You, the princess, and your sisters had all been easy targets to use as a cover for what they'd wanted to do. A Trojan horse, if you want to call it that."

Minako looked at him, a full picture of what had happened in the past developing in her mind. "You're saying that they'd been planning to usurp the royal family by using Serenity."

"To some extent," Kisho said with a nod. "They'd probably been planning this, even before Endy had met with the Princess."

Minako nodded. More than likely, the whole objection towards the alliance between Terra and Silver Millennium had been plotted by the nobles. However …

Kisho was giving her a lot more information than was shared at the meeting. While she no longer doubted that he was the genuine Kunzite and where his loyalties lay, she felt that something was off.

"There's something you don't want Usagi-chan to know about," she said quietly. "But apparently, you're fine letting me know about this, or else you wouldn't share this much information with me. In fact, you probably feel that I would agree with whatever you and Mamoru-san might have to do."

Kisho didn't say anything though he gave her a smile, the same smile that she'd wanted to kiss away just moments before and then it hit her.

"You said … they're a group of reincarnated nobles. Were … all of them related to Beryl?" she asked carefully.

Kisho laughed softly, the gaze in his eyes nearly making her heart break. "You've guessed it already, haven't you?"

This time, it was her turn to remain silent.

"Our parents … Nephrite, Jadeite, Zoisite, and my parents were all part of the group of nobles who'd wanted to overthrow the royal family."

She felt her stomach lurch and she clenched her fists tight. She immediately picked out the potential risks and dangers in this situation. She looked at him, momentarily wondering if this was why Ace had told her that she would always choose duty over love.

She had no idea how much love the Shitennou still held for their family members from the past, but she knew that she wouldn't care. Should these nobles prove themselves to be a threat to her princess, her Usagi-chan, she wouldn't hesitate for a moment to turn them into dust, even if it meant that she would never get to be with the only person she had ever and would ever fall completely in love with.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked, her voice much calmer than how she felt inside.

Kisho looked down at his hands, breathing in deeply again, before he gazed at her with an expression she was pretty certain mirrored the one on her own face.

"I just need you to keep the princess out of this situation. The Shitennou will handle this."

~-0-~

Some people might accuse her of being paranoid.

Well … she supposed it **_was_ **paranoia, though she felt that not many people could blame her. Though she played body double for Usagi, she **_wasn't_ **Usagi, and she wasn't about to trust a former enemy just because they promised they'd turned good.

Even if said enemy had been and was currently (technically) her significant other and love of two lifetimes.

Not to mention the fact that she **_technically_ **wasn't following him around. She wasn't even the one who'd told Rei about what happened. That honor belonged to Jin—she strongly suspected that he was using that as an excuse to "discuss plans of action" with Rei.

The only thing she did was ask Ami to keep a track on all four of the Shitennou. Ami, bless her soul, didn't tell Zenshi about Minako's orders and reported their activities back to her on a daily basis.

"You never asked why I wanted you to do this though," she said over the phone one day to Ami after the latter had given her the report.

The silence that followed after was so long that Minako was almost led to believe that the line had gone dead, if it weren't for the sound of typing coming from the other end.

"I never found a reason to," Ami finally replied.

"If there's any incriminating evidence, you'd be the one who would find it though."

"I would hope so," Ami answered.

Minako was reminded, at that moment, why she loved Ami so much.

"Besides, that's hardly the only reason why you'd sent me to look after them, is it?" Ami asked.

Minako kicked her foot into the sand and allowed the swing she was sitting on to sway gently. "I hate you sometimes."

"When I'm being brutally honest?"

"You're spending too much time with Rei-chan," Minako whined.

"And you're trying to change the subject on me," Ami replied.

"Okay, you've caught me," Minako confessed, digging her heels into the sand to stop the motion of the swing.

"Kisho-san wouldn't be very pleased if he finds out. He would think that you find him incompetent."

"Can you not say something like that with a serious tone of voice?" Minako joked.

"Minako-chan!"

"Okay, okay!" Minako giggled. "Besides, he wouldn't find out. That's precisely why I asked you to track him."

"You're forgetting that he has Zenshi-chan on his team as well," Ami reminded her.

"Are you telling me that a little Terran boy will defeat the brains of our team?" Minako asked in mock horror.

"He **_will_ **be learning about our systems once they've finished this mission. While I can delete all records about the tracking, I would like to remind you that Zoisite is both crafty and sneaky."

"Not exactly the positive adjectives to give to someone who's your boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend." Then, as an afterthought, Ami added, "And I stand by what I've said: He's crafty and sneaky."

"Not your boyfriend … so should I use the word 'lover'? 'Beloved'?"

"... Maybe I might just accidentally let things **_slip_ **one day."

"I'm just kidding," Minako said, waving her hand in the air though Ami couldn't see her. "And yeah, you do have a point. But what's the worst Kisho-chan could do? Glare at me to death for checking in on him to see if the four of them could bear to have the blood of their relatives on their hands?"

"You do know that they don't love Mamoru-san any less than we love Usagi-chan, don't you?"

"... I do."

"And knowing Mamoru-san, I doubt he's going to kill their parents … well, their parents from their previous lives. At most, they might get banished."

"... Do you think they might be somehow connected to the Black Moon clan?" Minako asked with a frown.

"Maybe … I'm not certain. But the Black Moon clan won't attack for a while, so it may very well be the reincarnation of these nobles or their descendents."

Later on in the future, after King Endymion and Neo-Queen Serenity had taken the throne and after Chibiusa had traveled to and back from the future, Minako would still wonder if the theory they'd come up was true.

~-0-~


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N**: Many thanks to those of you who've read, added to fave, and added to alerts! Huge, huge thanks to KageNoNeko for reviewing!

~-0-~

**Chapter 5**

While Kisho and Minako saw one another every day (after all, he **_did_ **live in her house), they didn't talk about the nobles and about what he and the others were going to do to them. All she knew was that one day, the rumors about the Sailor Senshi started to dissipate, dying into the background as if they were figments of their imaginations. After that happened, Mamoru became more lighthearted during meetings, smiled more often, and even made a joke about the rumors one day.

What made things worse was the fact that Kisho acted as if the nobles never existed in their lives and didn't talk about them. It was moments like these when she actually kind of missed how the impostor would offer up information without her needing to prompt him to do so.

Therefore, she resorted to double-checking the records with Ami, trying to see if they could find any clues in regards to what had happened. After a couple of hours and after Minako thought she was going to fall asleep from boredom, Ami finally mentioned that the day the rumors started to die down was also the day when all five men disappeared off the charts for a considerable amount of time.

"Where'd they gone?" Minako asked.

"The computers couldn't track them," Ami answered, "so I wonder if they'd gone to Elysion to take care of the nobles."

Other than that, they couldn't find any more clues, much to Minako's dismay. This meant that she would probably never find out what had happened.

"Mamoru was apparently there with them. He wouldn't let people harm Usagi-chan," Ami reminded her.

She knew what Ami said was true. However, it bothered her not **_knowing_ **simply because they could be harmful to their princess. All things were fine and dandy if they were dead, but if they were still out there, there was a chance they could do something to hurt Usagi.

Perhaps it showed on her face, or perhaps he was just as goddamned observant as he was in the past, but one day, Kisho finally spoke up.

"There's something you wanted to ask me." Kisho looked at her, tilting his head to one side.

"... Maybe?"

Kisho hung up the suit jacket he had been wearing before sitting down next to Minako on the couch.

"How's work?" she asked instead.

He raised an eyebrow at her, a strange look on his face. Nonetheless, he still humored her, "It was fine. Masato mentioned for the thirty-fifth time that he provided the money needed to open the business, so we should let him sit back, relax, and get his salary without having to put in any more effort. Zenshi whined about how Mamoru-san and Usagi-san becoming king and queen soon should mean that we shouldn't have to work in the first place. Jin suggested that I teleport the two of them to Uranus before I reminded him that their princess and future queen might see it fit to use that as another excuse to beat him to a pulp."

Minako laughed. "So another normal day at work."

Kisho didn't answer. Instead, he gazed at her questioningly.

"... What?"

"That's not what you wanted to ask me," Kisho said.

Minako stared at him before sighing. "Fine. I wanted … I'm just curious about what happened to the reincarnated nobles."

Kisho didn't immediately answer. He kept his eyes on her face for a short moment before a corner of his lips quirked upwards.

"That wasn't too difficult, was it?" he asked.

"... Huh?"

Placing a hand on her cheek, he leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the lips before resting his forehead against hers.

"We're going to have to work together to protect Mamoru-san and Usagi-san soon," he said softly with his eyes closed. "While I know it might still be difficult, you'll have to learn to place some trust in me."

"I do trust you!"

Pulling back, he allowed his hand to drop downwards to intertwine his fingers with hers. "Not enough to ask me simple questions like what happened to the enemies."

Minako gnawed at the inside of her cheek, slightly embarrassed. "They **_were_ **your parents and relatives from the past. I … wasn't certain if you would've wanted me to know."

"Not because you were afraid that I might release them due to personal feelings?" he asked in an almost teasing manner.

"You don't love Mamoru-san any less than I love Usagi-chan," Minako said, echoing the words Ami had said the other day.

Kisho drew in a deep breath and nodded slowly.

"So … what happened to them?" she asked almost timidly.

"We—the Shitennou, that is—had wanted to get rid of them … permanently," Kisho admitted with some difficulty.

"'Had wanted', so ... oh. **_Oh_ **. Mamoru-san stopped you guys, right?" she asked with a frown.

Kisho shook his head. There was a strange expression on his face, one that looked as if he wanted to smile and frown at the same time but couldn't decide which one to settle on.

"Then what happened?" she asked.

"Your princess."

"Goddamnit."

"That's what Nephrite said, too," Kisho said, amusement flickering in his eyes. "We weren't very certain in regards to how she'd found out, but we suspected Mamoru-san had told her."

"Let me guess, she went on harping about how it'll be too awful for the four of you to execute your own family members, disregarding whatever evil things they'd done and will do," Minako said.

"Something along those lines."

"Dear Selene, please help me," Minako groaned, burying her head into Kisho's shoulder. She stayed like that for a moment before asking, "And then? What did she do? Encourage them to become good little boys and girls before allowing them to run off scot-free?"

"I believe that was probably what she had in mind."

Minako straightened up. "But?"

"Zenshi, Jin, and Masato distracted her before we brought them to Helios's temple where certain parts of their memories were taken away," Kisho answered. "They won't remember what happened during the Golden Kingdom, and they won't remember anything concerning the rumors, including their role in it. Their memories were altered so they would believe that they are normal humans so that even if they do see Mamoru-san and Usagi-chan in the future, the memories will not be retrieved or triggered."

Minako blinked. Okay, so **_maybe_ **there were still some problems here and there—her mind was already whispering plenty of "what ifs" in her mind—but altogether, she supposed they could assume this to be the best ending for both sides.

"But what about their powers?" she asked.

"Helios ran some tests on them. Except for simple divination, they don't possess enough power to do anything significant to Mamoru-san and Usagi-san," Kisho answered.

"What if they see something about their past?" she asked.

Kisho smiled. "If you didn't go through what you did, would you have believed that you were the reincarnated princess of Venus, even if someone had told you?"

"... Okay, maybe you do have a point there," she replied before snuggling up to him again.

They sat there silently for a few moments, cherishing their moment of peace together before she spoke up again.

"Do you still need to go back to Elysion? Didn't you say that day at the meeting that the four of you hadn't completely healed yet?" she asked.

"Mamoru-san asked Helios on the day we returned to Elysion with the nobles. He said that our energy levels are still on the low side but should recover with time," Kisho answered.

"Would it be easier for you to recover in Elysion?" she asked.

Kisho shook his head. "Helios said that we appear to be recovering at the same speed as when we were staying at Elysion so where we stayed doesn't make a difference."

Minako nodded.

"We just … won't be too much help within the next couple of months, if more powerful enemies than the nobles come along," Kisho said with a displeased frown on his face.

Minako laughed. "There will be plenty of moments for you and your brothers to shine in the future. Right now, your priority is to heal completely, soldier."

Kisho raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you attempting to pull rank on me? Because I was under the impression that we are and will be of equal status in the future."

Pushing herself upwards, she gave him a peck on the lips. "... No, it's a request from a woman to the man she loves."

He ogled at her in surprise before his features softened. "Request accepted."

Circling her waist with an arm, he brought her closer and kissed her gently on the lips.

"Don't cut your hair again," he whispered as he stared into her eyes.

She hummed as she took a glance at the hair that was now up to her chest. "I think I still look gorgeous with short hair."

"I don't deny that," he said as he played with a lock of her hair. "But I remember how much you loved your hair."

"As long as you don't disappear on me again," she said before she could stop herself.

"I won't," he promised. He paused for a moment before adding, "And I've told you, we were brought back to life long before you cut your hair."

"I know," she said.

She recalled that he'd said that they were brought back to life with Mamoru after Usagi's battle with Galaxia, but since their bodies were long gone, they'd needed time in Elysion to recover their strength and powers. The whole logic was too long and boring, and of course, Ami was probably the only one who'd listened intently to it.

They sat there for a couple of more moments before Kisho went to the bathroom to shower. She stared at the door he'd disappeared through before she got up and went into their bedroom.

_Our._

She smiled at that thought. While the decorations were still much girlier than he would've preferred, there were still elements in there that signified his presence, like the ties hanging on the hooks on the door next to her jacket and the single cologne bottle standing out amongst the numerous bottles of her perfumes.

Strolling over to the dresser that the fragrances were standing on, she opened the top drawer and took out a box. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she opened it and stared at the content for a moment.

~-0-~

_"Greek mythology? You probably know it better than the professors," Artemis sniggered as he looked at the book that was on top of her desk._

_"Why do you think I'm basing my essay on it?" she asked with a sly smile._

_"Pfft," Artemis scoffed before jumping out the window and leaving her to her reading._

_He wasn't there when she reached the story about Berenice, and neither was he there to witness the way her face became more and more solemn as she read the last paragraphs of the story._

~-0-~

_She sat in front of the mirror, feeling just a bit silly and a whole lot more pathetic. Nobody believed in fairy tales at her age _— _or at least, practical people didn't._

_But she was supposed to be the avatar for Venus. She was allowed to believe in sugary-sweet stories for once, wasn't she?_

_Taking a deep breath and thankful that Artemis had gone to visit Luna for the night again, she strengthened the hold she had on the scissors and cut off bits of her hair. There. It wasn't much and people probably wouldn't even notice the difference, but it was the heart that counted, right? Quality over quantity._

_She bit down on her lower lip. Offerings required to be burned, don't they?_

~-0-~

_She had no idea why, but she felt a sense of peace and something similar to happiness bubbled inside her the day after the ritual. She wondered if it was because it had somehow worked._

_She started wondering if she should anticipate _**his** _return._

_Until the short instance of peace was thoroughly disrupted by enemies, hunting for Sailor Crystals._

~-0-~

Her thoughts were disrupted by the sound of the bathroom door opening, and moments later, Kisho entered the room.

He gave her an inquisitive look when he saw her sitting on the bed with something in her hands. In return, she gifted him a mysterious smile before getting up, placing the box back into the top drawer of the dresser. She still wasn't certain if the ritual did work or if everything had been just a mere coincidence, but she still liked the idea of a little secret that nobody else knew about.

Turning around, she got into bed and snuggled up to him, placing her head on his chest. As he placed a kiss on the top of her head, she smiled.

"I love you," she said.

He didn't say anything. Instead, he pulled her closer to him, into his embrace.

But right before she drifted off to sleep, she thought she heard something. It was so soft, that she almost thought it wasn't real. Or perhaps it was that state between reality and dreams where people often hear strange things made up by their own imaginations. Before she could decide on which one it was, however, darkness overcame her.

_"I love you, too."_

~-0-~

_Fin._

~-0-~

A/N: The art that inspired this fic is by chevalierviolet and it is the book cover for this fic. For better resolution, go to her art blog to check it out at

artchevio dot tumblr dot com slash post / 188657618838 /for-httpsssrevminibangtumblrcom


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